Stack divider



April 65 G. J. PRAGER 3,176,359

STACK DIVIDER Filed June 27, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. karye J/ ra er- A T'IORNEYS April 6, 1965 a. J. PRAGER 3,176,859

STACK DIVIDER Filed June 27, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. 6:077 Jfpra 'er A TTORNE YS United States Patent Ofiice 3,l7,859 Eatented Apr. 6, i965 STACK DIVEDER George J. Prager, Toledo, Ohio, assior to Beloit Eastern Corporation, Downingtown, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Ilene 27, 1961, Ser. No. 123,291 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-8.5)

This invention relates to improvements in paper handling apparatus and more particularly relates to a stack divider and counter for stacks of paper, dividing and advancing the paper for trimming.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a simple form of apparatus for dividing a stack of sheets of paper by floating a lift or pile of sheets of paper of preselected thickness from the top of a stack of sheets of paper.

A further object of the invention is tosimplify the removal of a heavy lift or pile of sheets of paper from a stack of paper by providing an air film at a selected level determining the bottom of the lift and floating the lift from the stack of paper by air and pushing the lift from the stack of paper during floating thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved form of apparatus for dividing and count ing a stack of paper in which a stack divider is automatically inserted in the stack of paper and counts the stack and floats a lift or pile of sheets of paper from the stack of paper.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for the removal of lifts or piles of sheets of paper from stacks of sheets of paper in which a predetermined pressure is exerted on the stack of paper, and gauges the position of the stack divider with respect to the stack of paper at the proper position required to divide a lift or pile of sheets of paper from the stack of sheets of paper of uniform thickness and float the lift from the stack of sheets of paper asth'estack divider moves across the stack of paper.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of stack divider and counter utilizing fluid pressure operated means for pressing down on a stack of sheets of paper with a predetermined pressure and determining the point of insertion of the stack divider in the stack of paper and thereby counting the sheets in the portion of the stack to be lifted from the stack, by feel or pressure on the stack of sheets of paper, and in which the stack divider emits air from its leading edge to sep state the stack and float the counted lift or pile therefrom.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial fragmentary diagrammatic view in side elevation of a stack divider and counter constructed in accordance'with the invention, showing a lift or pile of sheets of paper divided from the stack and being advanced to a table for trimming.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1 showing the stack divider in the process of being inserted in a stack of sheets of paper;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line III-IH of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View illustrating a hand operated stack divider. a

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings, I have shown a stack of sheets of paper 16 on top of a pallet 11, supported on a lift table 12, commonly known to the trade as a Levelator. I have also shown what is commonly termed a lift 13, separated from the stack of sheets of paper and being advanced by a pushing apparatus 15 along the stack of sheets of paper onto a table 16, from which it may be carried to a trin met (not shown) for trimming the lift to size.

The pushing apparatus 15 may be of a well known form and generally includes a carriage 17 mounted be tween parallel spaced rails 18, suitably supported at their ends on hangers 19 depending from the ceiling on a threaded shaft 2%. The threaded shaft 29 extends between the rails 18 and is rotatably driven from a motor 21 and speed reducer 22, driven from said motor through a belt drive 23. The threaded shaft 2% extends through the carriage iii and has threaded engagement with a nut (not shown), rotatably mounted wihtin said carriage, for moving said carriage and pushing apparatus along the rails lid across a stack of sheets of paper, to push a lift or pile of sheets of paper from the stack of paper onto the table 16 in a conventional manner.

The carriage 17 has a leg 24 secured thereto and depending therefrom. The leg 24 is of a channel-like form and has a vertically extending pusher plate 25 adjustably mounted at its lower end for vertical adjustable move ment tlierealong. The pusher plate 25'has a rectangular recess 25 extending vertically along its rear face and opening to the rear end thereof in registry with a slotted portion 2? of the web of the leg 24. The recess 26 forms a guide for a depending support bar 29 having a stack divider 33 mounted on its lower end and braced by a gusset 31 extending vertically from the stack divider 313 along the rear end portion of the support bar 29, and welded or otherwise secured thereto. The support bar 29 is retained in adjusted position with respect to the pusher plate 25 by a thumb screw 32 threaded within a boss 33, welded or otherwise secured to the rear wall of the pusher plate 25 and extending across the slot 26.

- The pusher plate 25 has a gauge or feeler plate 35 extending horizontally from its upper end portion and engageable with the top of a stack of paper by fluid pressure operated cylinder and piston means 34 exerting pressure on said gauge or feeler plate and signaling or gauging the level of insertion of the divider 3@ into the stack of paper to separate a lift having a predetermined number of sheets of paper therein. The gauge or feeler plate 35 is mounted on the lower end of a piston rod 36 of the cylinder and piston means 34 through a coupling 37, suitably connected to the gauge plate 55 at one end and to the lower end of the piston rod 36 at its opposite end. The piston rod 36 is extensible from a fluid pressure cylinder 39 mounted on and extending upwardly from a bracket 49, mounted on the front face of the leg 24 and extending forwardly therefrom. The bracket ill may be adjustably mounted on the front face of the leg 24 in accordance with the thickness of the lift or pile of sheets of paper to be separated from the stack of sheets, as by machine screws 38. I

The cylinder 39 is shown as being a double acting cylinder and may be an air cylinder. Fluid pressure connections 41 and 42 are provided at the piston rod and head ends of the cylinder 39, respectively, for admitting fluid under pressure thereto, to raise or lower the gauge plate 35, and to press the gauge plate 35 into engagement with the top sheet of the lift or pile of sheets of paper to be lifted from the stack of sheets of paper, to feel the position of insertion of the divider 359 to deliver a predetermined number of sheets to the table 16 determined by the pressure exerted on the top of the stack of sheets of paper by the gauge plate 35. The fluid pressure connections 41 and 42 serve to connect hoses 43 and 44, respectively, to the respective head and piston rod ends of the cylinder 3% and are shown in FIGURE 1 as being trained to the leg 24. Said hoses may be trained along said leg and'are preferably connected to a source of air under pressure under the control of suitable valve means (not shown) for supplying air under pressure to the head or piston rod ends of the cylinder 39. The fluid pressure system supplying air under pressure to said cylinder may include a variable pressure regulator valve (not shown), adjustable to supply air to said cylinder at a selected pressure, and a gauge (not shown) enabling the pressure of fluid entering the head. end of the cylinder 39 to be gauged. A predetermined pressure may thus be applied to the gauge plate 35, to thereby provide the required feel to the stack of paper to uniformly divide the lift from the stack of paper, by the divider 3t and tocount the sheets in the lift.

The'divider 30 is spaced a selected distance beneath the bottom of the gauge plate 35 and is moved downwardly by the gauge plate as the gauge plate engages the top of the stack of paper. lects the point of insertion of the divider 3t) insuring the divider is inserted beneath the stack of paper a uniform distance each time a pile is removed from a stack of sheets of paper, where the sheets of paper in the stack are. of uniform thickness, and thereby counts the sheets in the lift or pile and assures a uniform number of sheets each time the divider is inserted in the lift.

The gauge plate 35 thus se- V n. blade to readily be'grasped by the hand and inserted into a stackof paper at a location selected by the operator.

It may be seen from the foregoing that I have provided I a novel and simplified form of pile divider andcounter which floats a lift or'pile of sheets of paper from a stack of sheets of paper from a selected position in the stack of sheets of paper, determined by the feel on the stack of the stack of paperon the floatingprinciple and that the lift may either be floated and removed manually or automatically and the lift removing operation may be a part of an automatic counting operation if desired,

While I have herein shown and described several forms in which my invention may beembodied, it 'mayre'adily At the end of an operation ofpushing a lift of paper 7 onto the table 16, the pusher 15 is retracted and fluid under pressure is admitted to the head end of the cylinder 39 to lift the gauge above the stack of paper. After the pusher is moved into its retracted position, the elevator 12 will raise the stack of paper in position to accommodate the divider 30 and gauge plate 35 to separate another lift of paper of uniform thickness and advance this lift onto the table 16. I

a The divider 30 is shown in- FIGURES 2 and 3 as being in the form of a blade having a beveled advance undersurface 45 converging to a thin generally rounded advance edge 46' and having a port 47 opening from the beveled undersurface .40, adjacent the advance edge thereof. The port 47 may be a small diameter hole of the size of a pin holeand may be located to supply an air jet between the sheets of paper separated by the divider blade 30. A fitting 49 extends upwardly from the rear end portion of the divider 30 and has an air hose 50 connected thereto. The air hose 50 may be trained upbe understood that various variationsand modifications in the invention may .b eat tained without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof, as defined by the claims appendedhereto.

I claim as my invention:

paper from a stack of sheets of paper, apushing apparatus'including a vertically extending leg mounted for movement along a stack of sheets of paper, a pusher plate mounted on said leg for movement therewith and having g portion having an air port opening. therethrough for floating a lift of sheets of paper from a stack of sheets of I ofsheets of paper, a fluid pressure cylinder mounted wardly along the pusher leg 24 and be connected with a suitable source of air under pressure, for supplying air through an air passageway 51 leading to the port 47, and ejecting air through the port 47 to float the lift off the stack of paper and to accommodate the lift to be pushed onto the table 16, as the pusher leg 24 moves toward said table.

' It will be noted that the port 47 opens through the beveled advance undersurface of the divider closely adjacent the end thereof and thereby serves to supply air along atop sheet of the stack of paper beneath the bottom sheet of the lift in a direction to float the lift from the stack of paper and effect ready removal of the lift from the stack of paper.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 4, I have shown a pile divider which may be operated by the hand of the operator and manually inserted into a stack of paper at the position where it is V of pusher, for pushing a lift from the stack of paper I floated by air discharged through the ports 55.

The ports 55 may be small diameter holes in the nature of pin holes, and are connected with an air hose 57 through an air passageway 59 extending along the blade 53 and having connection with the individual air ports 55. The-blade 53 may also havea handle 60, enabling the on said leg and having a piston rod connected with said gauge plate and movingsaid gauge plate and divider blade vertically with respect to said leg'and engaging said, gauge plate with the top of the stack of sheets of paper with'a pressure regulated. in accordance with the pressure required to position saiddivider blade vertically along the stack of sheets of paper to be inserted in 'a stack of sheets of paper to divide a uniform lift of sheets of paper from the stack of sheets of paper. V

' 2. In an apparatus forremoving a lift of sheets of paper froma stack of sheets of paper, pushing apparatus including a vertically extending leg mounted for movement along a stack of sheets of paper, a pusher plate mounted on said leg for movement therewith and for vertical movement therealong, a gauge plate extending horizontally of said pusher plate and engageable with the top of a stack of sheets of paper, a divider blade spaced downwardly-from said gauge plate and having connection therewith, said divider blade having an air port opening therethrough adjacent the advanceend thereof, fluid pressure, cylinder and piston means mounted on said leg and having connection with said gauge plate for movingsaid gauge plate and divider bladevertically along said leg and engaging said gauge plate with the top of a stack of sheets of paper with a predetermined pressure and thereby determining the level of insertion of said divider blade in'the stack of sheets of paper.

3. In an apparatus for dividing a stack of sheets of paper and the like, a horizontally movable pushing apparatus, a support mounted on saidpushing apparatus means providing pressure on the top of the stack of sheets 1. In an apparatus for removing a' lift of'sheets of to determine the level of insertion of said divider in the stack of sheets, comprising a gauge plate extending from said support in upwardly spaced relation with respect to said divider blade, 2. fluid pressure operated cylinder and piston mounted on said pushing apparatus and having connection with said gauge plate and support for engaging said gauge plate with the top of the stack of sheets with the predetermined pressure and moving said divider blade downwardly to a level to divide a predetermined lift of sheets of paper from the stack of sheets.

4. In an apparatus for removing a lift of sheets of paper from a stack of sheets of paper, pushing apparatus including a vertically extending leg mounted for movement along a stack of sheets of paper, a pusher plate mounted on said leg for movement therewith and for vertical movement with respect thereto, a divider blade adjustably mounted on said pusher plate for vertical movement with respect thereto and extending horizontally of said pusher plate, and means providing the pressure on the top of the stack of sheets of paper to insert said moving said gauge plate and divider blade downwardly along said leg to engage said gauge plate with the top of a stack of sheets with a predetermined pressure, to thereby determine the level of insertion of said divider blade in the stack of sheets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,847,812 Burton Mar. 1, 1932 2,453,077 Newton Nov. 2, 1948 2,854,150 Shea Sept. 30, 1958 2,886,190 Beaulieu May 12, 1959 2,940,616 Reed June 14, 1960 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING A LIFT OF SHEETS OF PAPER FROM A STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER, A PUSHING APPARATUS INCLUDING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING LEG MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG A STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER, A PUSHER PLATE MOUNTED ON SAID LEG FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH AND HAVING A GAUGE PLATE EXTENDING THEREFROM FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TOP OF A STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER AND LIMITING DOWNWARDLY MOVEMENT OF SAID PUSHER PLATE WITH RESPECT TO THE STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER, A DIVIDER BLADE SPACED BENEATH SAID PUSHER PLATE AND MOUNTED THEREON FOR VERTICAL ADJUSTABLE MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT THERETO, MEANS RETAINING SAID DIVIDER BLADE IN FIXED BLADE HAVING A THIN ADVANCE PUSHER PLATE, AND DIVIDER BLADE HAVING A THIN ADVANCE PORTION HAVING AN AIR PORT OPENING THERETHROUGH FOR FLOATING A LIFT OF SHEETS OF PAPER FROM A STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER UPON THE INSERTION OF SAID DIVIDER BLADE IN A STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER, A FLUID PRESSURE CYLINDER MOUNTED ON SAID LEG AND HAVING A PISTON ROD CONNECTED WITH SAID GAUGE PLATE AND MOVING SAID GAUGE PLATE AND DIVIDER BLADE VERTICALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE LEG AND ENGAGING SAID GAUGE PLATE WITH THE TOP OF THE STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER WITH A PRESSURE REGULATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRESSUER REQUIRED TO POSITION SAID DIVIDER BLADE VERTICALL ALONG THE STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER TO BE INSERTED IN A STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER TO DIVIDE A UNIFORM LIFT OF SHEETS OF PAPER FROM THE STACK OF SHEETS OF PAPER. 